The traffic levels in the first month have managed to exceed traffic levels first seen in month five of the last race held in 2005-2006. In addition, over 6000 downloads of the mobile client have been made that provide viewers with an enhanced user experience. The Volvo Ocean Race mobile portal enables fans to get the latest race information and entertainment services from a host of multimedia content – including TV, chats and community – throughout the nine month race around the world.

Compared to two years ago, data traffic on the WAP portal amounted to 40 gigabytes during October, excluding live streaming, and early information indicates that videos and live streaming are making up a much larger part of what visitors are watching this year, reflecting the higher number of multimedia phones available on the market.

The most visited areas during the month were the information-rich, official start page that accounted for 59 percent, news, 24 percent and the standings page, 8 percent. Over 3000 visitors have also registered to have a nickname visible in chats.

Claes Ödman, Head of Sales and Marketing, Business Unit Multimedia, Ericsson, says “It is fantastic to see the positive feedback we receive on our Never leave the race concept. We really see consumer behavior changing to one where they decide when, where and how they will take part. And TV is at the center of this change in behavior. The importance of a Never leave strategy for anyone in professional sports, media, or entertainment is only growing bigger on a daily basis.”

Andrew Ferguson, Head of Technology and New media for the Volvo Ocean Race, says; “The new mobile channel augments our integrated multimedia strategy for the 2008-2009 race by enabling fans to keep in touch whenever and wherever they want.”

The solution that Ericsson is providing to the Volvo Ocean Race uses the Mobile Service Delivery Platform (MSDP). The solution also includes mobile TV technology as well as the Community Toolkit (CTK), a platform used to build mobile websites quickly and cheaply.

Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 195 million subscribers. The company’s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of ‘communication for all’ through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 70,000 employees generated revenue of USD 27.9 billion (SEK 188 billion) in 2007. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm and NASDAQ.

For more information, visit www.ericsson.com or www.ericsson.mobi.

Ericsson Media Relations
Phone: +46 8 719 69 92
E-mail: press.relations@ericsson.com